WOTNopolis: Gangsters in Paradise
by Kazekage Q
Summary: The only similarity to Naruto is the use of Chakra. Everything else is about super powered Gangsters. Its actually become a lot more popular on my website then I expected it to. So I hope people enjoy it here, as well. Characters from
1. WOTNopolis: Gangsters in Paradise

WOTNOPOLIS  
_Gangsters in Paradise_

**By Q and Bano  
Edited by Abby**

**Author's Note: The names of the characters do not match the names of the people whom they represent in real life exactly and are fictitious with the story**

****Author's other note: Hey, so my name is Q. Or that's what I go by on my website. The idea for this story, I don't know where it came from. But all the character's are based on personality traits people on my website have. This is not a typical Naruto Fanfic, but the website I have is a Naruto one: Way Of The Ninja .org I hope you like the story, and if you do consider joining my website. The updates for chapters get up there much quicker than they will here. And you'll get to interact and talk to people that this story is based off. And yes, its based on Gangsters. Not Ninjas. Anywho, enjoy!****

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**Chapter One**

Vibrations hummed from Quater's fingers tapping out a beat against the chair. His friend, who was sitting across from him, was trying to master even a little sleep, but he finally gave up with a groan.  
"That is rather annoying, you know," the friend sighed as he opened an eye to peer at Quater. "You can't sit still for one train ride can you, Q?" he bemoaned, but it was obvious by the stupid grin on Quater's face he could hardly care for his friend's discomfort.  
"Oh, please, a massage chair never hurt anyone, now did it? I find the vibrations relaxing. Besides, how can I help being excited? There's so much power and adventure waiting! So much to do! And you, _Bano the Great_, napping. Psh," Quater ranted. 'Bano the Great' sighed at the horrid nickname and closed his eye again.  
"Use my actual name, would you?" he whined.  
"Fine, _Banouin_," Q teased. Bano the Great groaned.  
"Nevermind. I'll nap if I want to. Not everyone has to be as hyped up about this as you." Q's frown burned into his friend's face as he whined. He then started ranting about the same exact thing he had ranted about not even three minutes ago. Bano (yes, that is his name) had heard it all a thousand times already on this train ride. In closing his eye he failed to notice that the girl a few aisles in front of them had been staring at them.  
Buildings flew past as the train bounced along. Though Q had said they were grand enough for Kings, the seats were cramped and not at all comfortable.  
"The city is huge, Bano!" Q cried out as another building blocked his view for a second.  
"Its WOTNopolis, the biggest city in the entire country of Animea. Of course it's going to be huge," Bano snorted. His friend had always been like this. Excited by the stupidest things. The windows went black for a moment and stayed this way for several seconds.  
"Bano! Bano!" shouted Bano's everlasting torture.  
"Yes, Q?"  
The cart brightened again to the dimming sun of evening.  
"That, all that, was just one building going by! It was huge! What's in it? Why is it so big?" Q rambled.  
"I have no idea, maybe an amusement park is inside," Bano replied in sarcasm. Bano felt sleep washing back over him and began to ignore the enthusiastic drone of Q's words.  
As the oblivious friend rambled on to his sleeping friend, a voice interrupted his own.  
"Hey, you new here?" asked said voice. It was gravelly and tough, as if rocks and nails were scratching against each other in his throat when he spoke.  
Q looked away from the window and saw five tall men standing in the aisle. The first one, who had spoken with the gravelly voice before, was the biggest and looked easily to match 6'5" with shining red hair.  
"Yes, very new. Bright off the express. It's funny because it's a pun." Q grinned back at the tall guy with a smile that could have only said, "Please take all my money and candy."  
"Then let us welcome you to the city. After all, you gotta learn how it's done. Give us your money, chumps." He smiled a toothy grin and the guys behind him laughed.  
"No, that's not going to work," Q smiled. "What's your name, anyway?"  
"Boy, you are new to WOTNopolis…" The man sighed and shook his head while taking out a metal pipe from his pocket. "But I will give you my name, newbie. They call me Silverleggionaire."  
In a swift movement the pipe flew through the air across the train and broke one of the windows. Q's hand was suddenly wrapped around Silver's face, and he held the statue of a man above his head as he pressed his fingers deep into his skull. Gasping and grasping, the man's arms were squeezing tight against Q's hands, trying to wrench them away, but unable to do so.  
"You know, with your face in my hand, I could shoot sound waves through your head and make it explode," Q explained as he shot the bewildered man a smirk. "You and your boys get on out of here. We are way out of your league."  
Silver then hit the chairs across the aisle from them as Q let him go. Shame and embarrassment crossed his face, not only from being caught off guard, but also being tossed like he was dirt by this cocky guy. All the passengers' eyes in the cart had fixated on the scene, including the blue eyes of the lady two aisles in front of them, her orbs smiling at the brawl.  
Q bonked Bano on the head, "You're not asleep."  
"Well I was, till _someone_ made a racket," he muttered. Q bonked his friend on the head again, which was answered back with a scowl. "I'm up, I'm up," the bonked friend groaned.  
Screams of terror had now rocked the shocked expressions of the passengers. All but the thugs and the blue-eyed lady in front of them were fleeing the carts.  
"Get 'em, guys!" Silver yelled with frustration. His four friends moved on their targets.  
"That's not suggestible," Bano told them as they advanced.  
Q smiled. "Silly Bano, we are learning how it's done." Bano could feel the air tingling.  
"Q, don't destroy the train," Bano warned. Q's smile dissipated.  
"Buzzkill," he muttered sourly. He relaxed and sat on top of his chair's headrest, an exaggerated expression of boredom replacing his smile.  
Two fists moved fast for Bano, but were dodged in an instant. He grabbed the face of the man closest to him and rammed it into a support rail. The man's legs were then kicked out from under him, and as the man hit the ground his neck was crushed by the force of Bano stepping on him.  
Bano looked around, but Q was standing on the shattered skulls of the other two men. The third was slumped over a chair. His smile had slid its way back on his face.  
"You only got one guy, Bano? You must still be asleep," he beamed happily.  
"Well, you know it only took me two seconds to finish him. I guess I am just too slow," Bano mocked sarcastically.  
"Two seconds? I am supposing you stopped for coffee in between. Did you get me some?" Q asked.  
"You punks!" Silver screamed as his fist flew through the air at the distracted friends. However, two loud bangs rocked the deserted cart, and, unfortunately for him, Silver hit the floor, bleeding and dead.  
Q and Bano, snapped out of their conversation, jumped immediately to different sides of the train and instinctively looked for the shooter. For a reason unknown to anyone but his good friend, Q grabbed his head in pain from the shots that hadn't even touched him. He barely lifted his head to see who had shot from the back of the cart, but just enough to see the figure.  
Three pairs of eyes landed on a man in a black uniform at the door of the cart. A semi automatic held in his hand contrasted well with his shockingly golden hair.  
"Is there any trouble?" he asked without a single utterance of enthusiasm in his voice. His black, colorless eyes pierced the room like knives, and, despite his normal height and build, Bano could sense this man was menacing.  
"Hey, thanks buddy!" Q yelled. "Those guys were just trying to welcome us. I was actually pretty excited; already, our first day and we were getting mugged! But, you didn't have to kill him—…"  
Q's words were cut off by a bullet that nearly nicked his ear. Though it didn't hit him, Q fell and instantly agonized in pain. The man looked at him.  
"I did not hit you; I do not know why you scream." Q held his head tightly in response. The man looked away to Bano, then back again at the fallen man in front of him. "You two are criminals," he stated. Bano, after looking at Q rolling around in pain, looked at the man with a questioning gaze. "I can tell by your faces," the man answered. He then continued with his smooth, impassionate voice, "Would it take long to find out what you two have done in your hometowns?"  
Bano knew why Q writhed in pain on the ground, but he couldn't let on. To most a bang of a gun is scary and loud, but to Q they were just as bad as the bullets themselves. It was a pain that only Q was accountable for.  
The man whipped out a badge. "My name is Sergeant Amaterasu. Future police commissioner of WOTNopolis. There is no escape for you two. I killed Silver because I had heard rumors that he had been mugging people on this train for his gang. But he's nothing but a bug to me. You guys are even less. Give up now or—…"  
Suddenly, a sword appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Bano had almost not noticed the girl dashing past him. She stabbed through the man's gun and pushed it to the ceiling of the train then kicked the Sergeant right in the gut.  
"Boys can't do anything," she muttered as she turned around.  
Bano saw Amaterasu had landed in the train cart behind them and was pulling himself together after having smashed through a door. Q stood up and massaged his temples thoroughly.  
"Oh man, I have a headache," he complained.  
"Alright, Amaterasu will be back up in about ten seconds. He's tougher than he looks. If you boys pay me, I'll get you out of here safe and sound. This is WOTNopolis, and I don't help men much, but for the right price…" She grinned.  
"Who's Amaterasu?" Q asked as he recovered.  
A shouting from the train cart behind the group grabbed their attention.  
"I should of known. It's the one they call Yoyo, a dangerous criminal off the streets despite her age. Or what I like to think of as a promotion waiting to happen." The man had recovered from the small damage done to him. Almost out of thin air, a bazooka was pulled out and aimed at the train cart in front of him, namely at the group of three.  
"Ten seconds?" Bano asked Yoyo with a frown. She stammered. Bano looked at his friend quickly, not waiting for an answer. "Q, get us out of here."  
However, his friend seemed slightly distracted. "A bazooka, that's cool! And...dangerous!" It was Bano's turn to bonk his friend on the head. Q looked at him with a whining expression, but one look from Bano and it disappeared. Instead, an excited smile graced his lips.  
He pressed his hand against the wall, and after a second the metal twisted in every direction and shrank from the spot. It created a large gaping hole in the train and a loose chair fell out the side. Unthinkingly and a little too over excitedly, Q hopped out of the fast moving train and straight into the wall of a passing building. Bano slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead as Yoyo watched with a very small expression of amusement.  
"The power of sound and the mind of a squirrel," Bano mused as he leaned outside of the train. He just had to wait for a safe spot to land and—  
Apparently, there was no time to lose as Yoyo pushed him out of the train.  
From behind him, she spoke to him as she was in midair after jumping out as well. "There, I helped, you owe me money." Behind her, flames and explosions shot out from the train as a reaction to the shot of the bazooka. Bano shakily stood up after bouncing down the road. He glared at her.

"What's the deal? You just pushed me out of a train, I could of died!" Bano shouted angrily. Yoyo simply shrugged it off.  
"Then one less man on this planet, and today would have been a good day," Yoyo smiled to herself. Bano wasn't amused whatsoever by the comment.  
Q walked over, nearly unscathed from the man-on-wall impact, to the two standing on the sidewalk next to the brick building he had just slammed into.  
"I wonder if that guy realized his cart was attached to it and now derailed and sitting bait for the next train?" Q pondered aloud, brushing dirt off of his sleeve.  
"Probably not. He's very serious and powerful, but he gets unlucky," Yoyo answered.  
Bano turned to his friend. "Are you still here?" he asked mockingly, and a fist hit him in the forehead.  
Yoyo sighed at the two. "Look, we need to get moving. You guys are now wanted by Amaterasu and even if he is just a man, he thinks he's the law. He'll be here soon with a team of dogs, helicopters, tanks, and an aircraft carrier or two. It's just not good," she cautioned the two of them.  
"If I had a dog, I'd name him Hamburger or Cherry Coke," Q decided, spaced out into oblivion. Bano laughed.  
"You have such a one track mind for food, Q," he commented. Q grinned widely.  
Yoyo's eyes narrowed. "What are you two idiots _doing?_ Do you not realize the _danger_ of the man we just ran into? He's well on his way to cleaning up the streets of WOTNopolis single handed! He stands up to even the Mafia bosses, you can't possibly imagine what he'll do to us!" she tried again, adding emphasis in order to grab the attention of the two idiots.  
"Mafia bosses?" Q asked. Yoyo felt like punching him. Was that the _only _part of her entire warning that he caught?  
Q was not fazed by her seething face. "Bano! We need to go to our hideout!"  
A car passed down the road. It slowly turned the corner and a biker made it down the sidewalk and across the street. The silence among the three lingered for a short while.  
"Ah, I just realized, we need a hideout!" Q shouted dramatically. He picked the only girl up and pointed her in a direction. "Lead me to my hideout!" he ordered.  
Q received his deserved punch, and he stepped back a little. He was now facing the wrath of Yoyo.  
"Are you guys serious? Is this some kind of joke?" Yoyo exclaimed. She brought her fist back to her side. He earned that punch not only for his stupidity, but for touching her as well. "No man touches me," she told him as she whisked back her short brown hair.  
"Well, you were the one who wanted to get out of here so badly," Bano muttered. He looked at his punching bag of a friend. "But Q, I am not sure we can trust her. I mean who can trust a woman out of the kitchen anyway?" Yoyo glared at him and brought back her hand again, now with an object in it.  
_Smack! _  
Bano staggered back. He had just been nailed with an odd form of club that was now held in the fist of the woman. She was glaring at him, still.  
Q, not wanting to be a part of the fight continued on his way down the sidewalk. Soon, after a glaring contest between the mauled and and mauler (the mauler won), they followed.

The group found themselves in the crowded streets of WOTNopolis. Q turned his head to his right. "Where exactly are we, Yoyo?"  
"This is the East Side. Probably the opposite of where an up and coming gang wants to be, but whatever. Usually the gangs on East side are pretty set in stone. It's West Side where people battle it out to become powerful and famous. Just keep going straight and when you get to an intersection, cross it I'll catch up with you there."  
After her answer, and her directions, she was gone. Bano and Q looked at each other briefly, but decided to continue and follow the mysterious Yoyo's directions.  
Many of the buildings here were covered in layers of filth and rust that hadn't been noticed during the train ride. The gleam of WOTNopolis seemed to be missing there, the two noticed.  
Under cared buildings, streets full of holes, and burdened people were as numerous as the trash on the road. Bano just ignored it, whereas Q was mesmerized by it. As they reached the aforementioned intersection, they could see a large neon sign standing in a window above the door of a brick building with several windows that read: Bar and Inn.  
Leaning against the side wall was Yoyo, just as she had told them. She smiled and waved the two guys on over. Down the side of the street, only one Jeep was parked while other cars passed by.  
Bano was looking around with his lips slanted and his eyes wandering. "Q, I don't really know about this," he murmured as they waited at the busy corner for the street to clear. "It's too weird."  
Q smiled down at his friend. "You worry too much, Banostar," Q replied, using his friend's nickname. He headed across the street as soon as it was clear. Not very reassured, Bano sighed and trailed after. _Too much work_.  
The screeching of tires and the revving of an engine soon screamed down the street. The parked Jeep shot to life and had closed in on Q and Bano in a second. The whole street had been a trap!  
But as soon as the threat was perceived it had been eliminated. A kick to the front of the Jeep had reverberated across the entire vehicle. It was compressed on one side and sent gliding safely away from the two men.  
"Shoot, someone's trying to kill us!" Q gasped as he pulled his foot back. "That scared me pretty bad!"  
Two scarred men slid out of the heap of metal in the middle of the street. Cracked glass was crunched as they both started to move towards Bano and Q. "Tch, that's all you got? We've been through much worse. We're gonna tear you up for what you did to our boys on the train."  
"And my Jeep!" the other man grunted.  
Inside, a hulking figure waited in the dim light of the bar. He was known in the East for his gruesome tactics and his ability to catch any victim by surprise.  
A smaller figure questioned him. "Boss, you don't think the guys who beat up Silver will see through the car trick, do you?"  
A small grin appeared on the big man's face as he lounged on top of the bar stool in the very back. His figure intimidated the group of gang members assorted throughout the bar and none envied the questioner who sat closest to him. A short brunette girl quietly cleaned the counters as several gang members appreciated her view.  
"Even if they do survive, and I imagine men strong enough to take out Silver could get out of the way, the guys inside are more than enough to handle the job," the man finally answered.  
"Ah, true Darkflame. We didn't have anything to worry about, I'm truly sorry—" The poor, loyal subject was brutally cut off. The ax cracking through his forehead may have caused this interruption.  
"You do not use my real name," he seethed at the bloody man at his side. "Only my enemies can use that, and that is because they need to tremble in fear of it. You, my subjects, will refer to me as Boss. If you dislike this policy, you can come and talk to _my _boss about that." He smiled cruelly at the thought.  
Today was going well, he thought to himself. True, he had lost some good men to two punks on a train, and that butt-in named Amaterasu. But, he was getting revenge, and he loved nothing more than revenge. And he loved his boss, after all. Surely, his boss was the most powerful man in the city. And, because Darkflame worked for him, he was protected by this man.  
The shattering of a window brought his attention back to what was going on outside of his revenging world. Crumpled over a knocked over table was the driver of the Jeep, limp. The Boss was taken aback.  
"What the—" he shouted. However, in that second the window above the door that carried the neon sign was smashed and a body soared through. The second strongest in his gang! His eyes narrowed in anger and confusion. "What's going on?!" Darkflame cowled. Who would do this to him? Didn't they _know_ who was being spat in the face of? Didn't they know who to _fear?_  
His gang ran around in anticipation to help the hurt and protect their boss. The short brunette behind the counter cringed a little at the sight of the broken windows, but kept working quietly, running her rag over and over in the same spot, trying in vain to distract herself. No one was sure what to do. The gang was clearly being challenged and yet, the challengers hadn't shown themselves.  
Quietly the door to the bar was opened and two men walked inside. They didn't take notice of the two fallen men, nor the sight of the gang fuming around them as they proceeded straight towards the Boss. The Boss was enraged.  
"What are you guys doing, stop those two! I will not be made a joke of! cried Darkflame.  
After registering what was said, men on all sides rushed at the two. Bano crouched down and swung his leg out fast, side sweeping several to the floor. Q jumped on a table and banged the heads of two gangsters together and from there tackled one to the floor. A giant ax flew through the room and knocked over several tables. Foreseeing the threat, Q and Bano dropped to the ground as it passed close overhead.  
Without a word, each man stood back up. Darkflame was closing in on hysterics as he re-established the giant battle axe on his chain and began to swing it. He shouted in despair.  
"Don't come another step! I am Darkflame! The flame that can't be extinguished! You will perish! My boss will not—" Suddenly, he, too, was cut off.  
Q had sprung to the other side of the room and closed his mouth with his hand. In an instant the battle axe fell to the ground as Bano's shining Kama cut the chain in half. They glistened in the light of the bar as they were effortlessly replaced back into the pieces of wood they were held in. The same practices that made switchblades so deadly also made these Kama so fast. And none was more effective than Bano with them.  
"Aughh, your voice is so unpleasing to my ears," Q groaned as Darkflame's eyes widened with fear. With that, Q squeezed his fingertips against Darkflame's face.  
It was over.  
Darkflame's eyes rolled back as blood poured out every socket of his face. Q let him drop to the floor.  
"Weird," Bano spoke and pointed to a body on the floor. "This guy seems dead already," he said while peering cautiously at the short brunette lady behind the bar counter who had watched the whole show while cleaning a glass.  
"Oh don't worry about me," she smiled. "Well, not yet. I must thank you, though. This gang is the Squid Gang. Their leader has parked in my bar for a month now. They trash the place and scare away customers, but I've been stuck with them. It's a terror, really."  
"No problem," Q smiled. Bano glared as Yoyo finally slid inside.  
"What do you want?" Bano demanded.  
"Wow, yo-you guys were a lot stronger than I had initially anticipated…" she stuttered. She could still feel the chakra intensely pouring off the two of them.  
"Our strength doesn't change the fact that you set us up!" Bano snapped.  
"Um, I have something to say," the brunette said, and attention was brought back to her. She smiled sincerely, but with a dim glow in her eyes. "I truly thank you for freeing my bar from this curse of the Squid Gang, but you totally wrecked the place. And my favorite sign. If you want to stay, get cleaning." From behind her counter, she pulled out a couple of deck brushes.  
Q walked over to Yoyo. "Are you sorry?" he asked her.  
"Erm, yeah, I didn't really, I mean guys are..." She couldn't find her words.  
Q help up his hand, telling her to stop. "Good. Then you can stay with us," Q told her with a smile.  
Yoyo frowned. "Well, who said I wanted to stay with you guys!—" she began, but was cut off.  
"And to say you're sorry for setting us up for a trap and junk, you can clean the bar up!" he said cheerily. He left a befuddled Yoyo and walked over to the bar to order. "Cherry cokes! Four of them, cause I want you to have one too as our hideout manager… um…" Q told her, somehow asking for a name. She smiled.  
"My name is Temari, and I'll get right to 'em," she answered as Bano dropped the bodies of the Squid gang on the sidewalk. As Bano dragged the heavy body of Darkflame out he was surprised to detect a small pulse of life left in him. _Q's still too naive._  
"Hey, ew, Cherry Coke, really? A celebration calls for a real drink, like Dr. Pepper," he interjected.  
"I hate to agree with an uncivilized man such as him, but he's right," Yoyo agreed, not yet touching the mess.  
"Cherry cokes!" Q shouted  
"Uncivilized?" Bano growled  
"I think you guys are going to be fun," Temari smiled and got to work on the orders.  
"Also, we will need a room," Q shouted to the brunette.  
"You are as uncivilized and as unkempt as any pig headed man I've ever seen," Yoyo threw back at Bano.  
"_Pig headed?_ I'm a kill you woman!" Bano glared. However, he began to smile demonically. "But have fun cleaning up our mess. That _is_ a woman's duty after all. To clean up the messes their men make."  
"You're _so_ asking for it," she said while pulling out her club again, readying her arm.  
Temari side glanced at the brewing fight, but turned her attention back to the oblivious and happy man. "Sure, the rooms are free if you take care of this place better than the last gang. But the drinks aren't," Temari told him with a nervous smile.  
"Awesome!" Q whooped, a smile on his face and a fist enthusiastically raised in the air. "And now we have a hideout and a gang that loves each other!"  
Temari glanced over at Bano, who was sprawled on the dirty floor as he was hit with the club that was held tightly in the raging Yoyo's grip. She looked back at Q, unable to believe how oblivious he was. "Yeah…_very _loving."

That's all for chapter one everyone. Chapter 2 is still on this account, so if this interested you take a look at it. Again, all the current chapters are on: Way Of The Ninja .org and if you found any of this interesting, this is just a small taste of the excitement we had on there. Please leave a review or comment or something. Makes me feel loved. ^_^


	2. WOTNopolis: Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The moon shined into the room through the giant windows. A cold brisk air swirled throughout the sparse space. A giant shadow sat in a large chair while watching the whimpering figure in front of him at his feet. Contempt and disgust were clearly etched on his face, contrasting against each other, but somehow completing his dark façade.  
The figure at this dark man's feet shook. Tears sat expectantly at the edge of his eyes, waiting to fall.  
"Master, please, I beg you. Please," he begged. The man's knees shook subtly as he struggled to keep his eyes on his Master. "You have to help me."  
"Oh, do I?" asked the large figure, not having any problem keeping his gaze on the fool. He sat in his chair, looking down on the shuddering man. "May I ask, what was the_one_ rule I told you when you joined this organization?"  
The figure grimaced. He searched for something to say as he looked away. Anything that could spare him. However, all the mistakes, the arrogance, it all came flying at him now in his search for words. Why had he put so much trust in this man? He had seemed like the way to survival – to infinite protection. Now, suddenly, he was in the worst situation of his life. Not only that, but this man was not an ally. He was a threat.  
He needed to leave.  
The begging man got on his hands and knees. He spilled out the only words that had the heart to come to his worthless mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You're right. I failed. Please, please let me live. I'll leave this city. I'm done. I failed you. I'm done…" he gently pleaded. He had to escape.  
The man slowly rose to his feet and towered over the groveling figure. The man on the floor flinched and bent down lower, his forehead inches away from the floor. His Master stared down at the peasant with black ice eyes. Unblinking. Uncaring.  
"The rule when you joined was a simple rule: Never lose. You broke that rule. Two no-names defeated your entire gang," he told the floor-man coldly.  
He sputtered. "I was weak; they weren't!" He quickly regretted facing the dark man above him and quickly faced his eyes down again. "Please, let me leave. I served you faithfully for five years. Please master," the man pleaded desperately.  
His Master didn't pity the fool whatsoever. Instead, he continued on with his cold voice. "You used my name numerously as your protector, as your master during the time you served me. Oh no, _Darkflame._" The man cringed as his name was covered in ice. "I cannot let you escape alive. Had you not told everyone you worked for me, had you not been so _cocky_, maybe I could have let you go alive without you being a hindrance to my honor. But as it is…" He crossed his arms as a dry smile formed on his dark face. "I cannot," he finished.  
Every light and hope in Darkflame's eyes was quietly diminished. He stared numbly at the floor. The tears waiting at the brim of his eyes began to freely jump off. His head snapped up to face his no-longer Master.  
"No, master. Please!" he cried. His 'Master' payed no heed to the crying.  
"However, where you failed me in life, I believe you will be quite useful in death. Besides, I'm curious how the soul of slime like you tastes," the dark man finished. With no more to add, the man bent over and picked up his hand. Darkflame moved back a little, but was stuck in his place. His fear chained him down. His face was paralyzed, and he was unable to remove the fear from his eyes, the scared frown burning his muscles. As the man gently pushed his finger through Darkflame's forehead, Darkflame let out one, solitary last gasp. He then spasmed to the floor, and left the world in a quiet shudder. No last goodbyes, no last prayer.  
Just a cold, quiet shudder.  
The large man walked over to an intercom on a giant wooden desk placed in the room. The room was dark with only a few sparse lights at the door to his room, which really was an elevator. He liked the dark. It made him comfortable. At home.  
He gently clicked the call button, "Miss Judai, please send Punkfilter to my condo," he said dryly to the intercom.  
"Right away," the box squawked in reply.  
He walked over to the dead body of Darkflame and tapped it on the forehead twice – the same spot where he pushed his index finger through and killed the filth of the man. He cringed and nearly spat; the soul tasted disgusting. With an expression of sour taste, he proceeded over to his usual seat behind his desk. As he looked down at the dead body, it began to flinch. He looked up as the elevator doors opened. Another man, most likely with the name Punkfilter, entered the dark room.  
"Hello, boss. You wanted to see me?" he asked calmly. He wore a dark, dark navy blue suit that was more times than not mistaken for black, with the jacket unbuttoned and his shirt tucked in. His black hair and black eyes made him a foreboding sight. Once he saw death written on the ground, he laughed. His laugh was not very wholehearted, and it never was, never would be. It was a deep chuckle, and gave the room an extra chill. "Did you want to me to take out the trash?" he asked and pointed to the dead figure that was gently stirring.  
"You know I have taught the trash to take care of itself," the large figure smiled. Darkflame's arms were pushing himself up and the body slowly sat up. His eyes were dim. The outlines of his tears were burned into his dead face like tattoos. As he struggled to stand, the 'boss', as Punkfilter had dubbed him to be, intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on top of his knuckles, his elbows planted onto his desk. "Darkflame's presence in the East had been useful to me. Even though the gangs there have been quietly balancing their power for years, he was useful in determining if a new threat would arise in the East. I believed if someone powerful did show up there, Darkflame would annoy them enough for them to defeat them. But, it's been years and nothing showed up.  
"I don't think the two men that Darkflame was defeated by are an actual threat to us, or even worth our time. But, it's possible that this shift in the balance in power of the East may raise them to prominence, even by accident. So I would like you to test them, to see if they should be killed," the boss commanded. Punkfilter seemed to frown very slightly.  
"Test, master?" he asked disappointed. With his hands in his pockets of his dark pants, he shrugged. "I guess I can fight them at sixty percent, and if they do well, I can go at them stronger."  
"If they are weaker than twenty five percent, just kill them. If they are stronger than that, match their power but do not kill them," the man finished. Punkfilter sighed again at being bound to twenty-five percent. Darkflame's body finally stood stubbornly to its legs. His soulless eyes gazed at the man who had killed him, and the killer looked at him with a dry smile. The body didn't flinch this time. The boss looked back at the only other living human in the room. "I'll be going with you to watch, as well. Have a little fun, will you?"  
The living man nodded. "Of course, TFK." He smiled and turned on his heel, exiting the room. Before leaving completely, he snapped his fingers without looking back. The trembling and shaking body of Darkflame stopped staring at the boss and lifted his head to look at the suited man. He slowly limped behind, following the exit. As he looked at his follower, the sight of Darkflame's body in such torturous shape made Punkfilter laugh again as the elevator doors shut.

Across town, it was morning. In a certain building, a quiet groan rang. Sergeant Amaterasu was filling out paperwork. He hated paperwork, _especially _in the morning. It almost made the bad guys not worth catching. However, a different (and definitely more cheerful) sergeant thought otherwise.  
"I heard you got duped by some punks on that Silver mission," laughed a thin, dark skinned woman. Sergeant Amaterasu put down his paperwork to look at the woman with tired eyes.  
"I caught Silver, did I not, Sergeant KarateKeyaQ?" he shot back as he caught the stare of her violet eyes. She only laughed.  
"Psh, I see Mr. _Man_ is all business today. I just came up to give you the latest gang updates," she said to him with a cheerful smile.  
Amaterasu groaned. She was such a morning person. He hated morning people. He didn't understand how it was possible to smile on such dreary mornings. Why couldn't she be normal and be upset about mornings?  
"Yes, what are they?" he asked, silently hoping to rid her of his office faster.  
"Well, let's see..." She looked over the papers briefly. "In the West two new gangs appeared, and you told me to tell you about any new ones since you were looking for some troublemakers." She poked him in the arm with her pencil that was taken from the back of her ear. "That totally kicked your butt," she whispered, poking fun at the man's pride. He frowned.  
"Not my fault, I was distracted by that criminal, Yoyo," he grunted. She only laughed.  
"Sure, sure. Anyway, one of the new gangs was defeated by the Scorpion gang. That's their fifth gang in a row they've decimated. And then the other gang defeated the Stingrays, which was a surprise. They call themselves the Tiger Gang. Interestingly I hear that gang only has two people in it," she remarked.  
Amaterasu knew that people in WOTNopolis followed the gangs like sports teams. They gambled on it, watched the fights for entertainment, and even secretly cheered when their favorite gang won a fight or dodged the police. It kept people entertained, but Amaterasu had given up caring years ago. Criminals were criminals. They were not to be celebrated as icons. The two that took out the Stingrays could be his group. But the Stingrays were really powerful, so whoever did it must have been demons.  
"Oh, and there's a rumor that the Squid gang fell to some unknown group," she added as an afterthought.  
"In the East?" he asked curiously.  
"Yeah, it's kind of odd. But it seems to be true," she said poking her chin with the eraser end of her pencil. She tucked it back behind her ear and grinned at the man. She then handed the sergeant a muffin. "Have a muffin," she smiled.  
"Yeah, thanks," Amaterasu muttered, groaning again at the cheeriness as he took the muffin.  
"By the way, I checked the clock. You did that Silver mission on your time off and then arrived at work an hour early. You work too much, Mr. Man," she said to him. He looked at her briefly, and then back down at his paperwork. She sighed with a shrug, then left, leaving 'Mr. Man' to his work.  
Amaterasu should have retaliated, but his thoughts were on the East. And this darned paperwork to finish. He took a bite out of the muffin and shook his head.

Another car drove by and Q pointed excitedly. "And that's a car!" he shouted.  
"Yes, yes, we know," Yoyo answered, disheartened.  
"And that's a crack in the sidewalk," Q explained, pointing his finger down at his feet.  
"What started this?" Yoyo asked Bano, glaring at him accusingly.  
"And that's an angry pedestrian who's staring at me," Q exclaimed, his finger retreating from pointing.  
"Well, earlier Temari said I knew a lot about the city and now Q's determined to show he knows more about it than me," Bano told Yoyo, ignoring her glare.  
"And now the pedestrian is trying to take his daughter away from me. And that's a balloon!" Q jovially called out, pointing his finger at the floating red plastic.  
"Wow, he's a buffoon." She shook her head. Her eyes wandered over the road they were walking on, and she frowned. "By the way, we shouldn't be walking down the street," Yoyo whispered while checking over her shoulder.  
"Why not? It's a nice enough day out," Bano answered, looking up at the sky with his hand shielding his eyes. "Your skin could use a little sun."  
"It isn't the weather! You guys are a gang that has made many enemies after defeating Darkflame. They'll come after you," she whispered hurriedly.  
"We've been in fights before, but we come out okay," Bano said, relaxed._Then again if we went back we could nap_.  
"A bus! A city bus!"  
"No, you've been in fights in your hometown. You may have been the strongest in your hometown, but every gang here was the strongest in their hometown. You guys are just sitting bait," she explained. He shrugged the warning off.  
"By the way, I have a question. You mentioned a West Side, what does that mean?" he asked. It kind of bugged him to know so little about WOTNopolis.  
"Ooh, it's a dog!"  
"Ah, well, you know that there are really two parts of WOTNopolis, divided up even more so, right?" she asked.  
Bano shook his head no.  
"Geez, totally clueless man," Yoyo groaned, shaking her head in disgust. "WOTNopolis sits where all six counties of Animea meet right?"  
"Six counties?" Bano asked. She frowned.  
"Men are so slow," she lamented, hiding her face in her hand. Bano glared at her.  
"You're one more man-hating line away from a hit," Bano snapped.  
"Ooooh, a trash can!"  
Yoyo put her hand back at her side with a heavy sigh. "Okay, fine. Look, Animea used to be 6 countries. These countries fought each other all the time. But they also traded a lot with their allies, and alliances changed a lot. Eventually they grew similar customs, and from there the leaders worked out a way to make the countries allied together. As it grew more dependent they decided to unify. Animea. Suna, Sandia, Shado, Glaceria, Miasta, and Stormu all gave up their independence for the sake of survival. As you know, Animea is in war with other countries on its borders, especially Mangaka, so it was good they did conglomerate a hundred years ago or we'd of been annihilated," Yoyo ended.  
The look on Bano's face clearly asked "What war?"  
"Lordy, there is a level to ignorance. Only a shallow man could care so little—" Bonked.  
"I warned you," Bano said as his fist sat atop Yoyo's head.  
"Oh man, what a day! I found a door!" Q called out, not realizing he was both being stared at by people and ignored by Yoyo and Bano.  
Yoyo slapped Bano's fist away. "Anyway, so they picked the spot where all the countries met to make WOTNopolis. This would be the capital. But the problem is that each country had really odd climates that all met at one point. So automatically WOTNopolis became a place for the weird and power hungry. The urbanized city is the Main City of WOTNopolis. This area is two parts. The East and the West. Outside of this is the rural zones which change dramatically in weather patterns," Yoyo finished.  
"Oh look, a vendor! Yes, I would like to look younger. How did you know?"  
"So, what's the big deal about the East and the West?" Bano asked.  
"The East is the old city. The gangs here hate all forms of change and they control it with an iron fist. Which is why you two are in danger," Yoyo went on.  
"A bird! They have birds in the city? I bet Bano didn't know that," Q glared unreasonably.  
"Ah, I see. So basically we are like awesome now 'cause we took out the Squid gang," Bano smiled. He then began to muse to himself, "Bano the Amazing, maybe? Bano the Fearsome, perhaps?"  
"Gah, you don't get it at all," she gave up.  
Suddenly, something made her feet weigh down and stop her. Her back straightened, her eyes widening a couple fractions. The air was suddenly cold, very cold. _This presence…It couldn't be._  
Her eyes washed over a man that was quietly making his way down the street. He was wearing a familiar dark, dark navy blue (or was it black?) suit, his hands calmly placed in his pockets. People fled out of his way as they saw him. They knew exactly who he was as well.  
Yoyo stood in her spot, frozen and shocked. He couldn't be here for them, could he? His chakra was overflowing already from this distance. And he was still a block away.  
Bano looked back, noticing his walking partner was no longer at his side. "What's keeping you?" he asked. The look of fear on her face told him to hold back the joke about women being slow.  
Across the street someone was laughing. Q watched the man as people stayed away from him. The man in the suit was laughing in their direction. "I love the fear I strike in the weak," he said smiling. He was looking directly at Yoyo's panicked face.  
He shouted as he came closer to them, "Are you the guys who took out Darkflame?"  
"No, that was all them, I'm innocent blood!" Yoyo squealed as she dashed away from Bano and Q, keeping herself a safe distance away from the man she seemed to fear.  
"Sell out," Bano grumbled. However, he wondered to himself. Yoyo, the president of man-hating, feared this man?  
"What about it?" Q asked in reply. There was something about this guy. Q smiled back at Punkfilter, though a little uneasily.  
Punkfilter continued to advance on them. "Well, I must first congratulate you on taking out pure garbage. My name is Punkfilter. However, I'm afraid my boss doesn't like that you two have annihilated one of his little minions and has ordered me to test you at twenty-five percent." He grinned. His black eyes shone demonically as they narrowed. "Of course, his orders and my intentions are different."  
For one reason or another, Q hid his small ounce of fear for the man well. "Oh, this guy is strong, I can tell!" he said cheerily. "But Bano, check for me."  
Bano bent against the ground and pressed his palms to the pavement. He closed his eyes calmly as chakra left his arms and into the cold stone. The man in the dark suit was now just across the street from them. Q noticed that even cars going down the street had stopped and people had gotten out of them and hurried away. Others peered through windows of the upper floors of nearby buildings. Many had cameras and cellphones, watching with excitement. Q caught the voice of someone saying, "Looks like TFK wants a public execution."  
Bano stood up and dusted his hands off on his jeans.  
"So?" Q asked expectedly.  
"Fighting him is a _great_ idea. And what kind of coffin do you want?" Bano asked seriously as he brushed his dark red hair out of his eyes, frowning.  
"Come on, be optimistic for me," Q whined. "Do you want to run for it?"  
Bano was surprised. Q had never really asked Bano's opinion on a fight before. Nor had he ever shown intention of wanting to back down from a fight. "Never in this life," Bano replied. His brown eyes met Q's black eyes, waiting for an answer. Q sighed.  
"Too bad," he mumbled while pushing Bano back with his left hand. "Because you need to get out of here," he ordered  
Bano was even more surprised. Was he joking?  
An ugly twisted man slowly caught up with the suited figure. Punkfilter pulled up the cuffs of his suit then bent down and pressed his hand into the ground. At once, two giant green glass walls shot out from the ground and upward into the sky. The simultaneous walls appeared on either side of Punkfilter and left enough space for him to walk across the street. A car that had been parked above one of the spots was sent flying into the air. "Apărea," he whispered.  
Punkfilter gently put his hands back in his pockets and began to stroll across the street. Bano and Q were speechless as they watched the walls gleam in the sunlight. They were thick and distorted the images behind them, but were transparent enough to see through. The tops were tipped with large spikes.  
"Ah, admiring my work, are you?" asked Punkfilter nonchalantly, noticing the stares. "This mineral comes from the Flourapatite family, and is quite durable when made thick enough. Surrounding everyone at all times is different minerals in the ground. Using chakra, I have the ability to combine them and crystallize them in an instant. Although it doesn't sound like the deadliest power in the world, don't underestimate the rocks below."  
Q smiled and grabbed the wall of crystal closest to him. His palm pressed gently against the wall. A screeching noise coursed throughout the entire street as sound waves were pressed into the crystal. Punkfilter kicked off the ground and landed behind Q. The crystal wall that had stood behind Punkfilter shattered into pieces. Q pulled his hand away, a grin on his face.  
He turned and faced Punkfilter. "You really do have an interesting power. But it's not going to work against me. Crystals are a natural conduit for sound waves. I can easily use them to amplify my powers," Q stated.  
Punkfilter grinned slightly. He shoved his hands into the sidewalk and after a second pulled them out. His hands were covered in a blue-ish green substance and the substance slowly changed, becoming thicker toward the bulk of his arms and sharp edged across his lower arm. "Ascuţi," he muttered. "Alexandrite, the stone of Russia," Punkfilter explained. He swung his arm at the sidewalk, ripping it open to demonstrate its power. The edge cut through the sidewalk as scissors does paper. "Not that you were wondering, but it is a noble stone. To the average person carrying this would be heavy, but to me it's just an extension of my arms."  
Q just barely bent back enough to avoid the sharp edge of Punkfilter's right arm as it swung over his head. Another swing had Q rolling on the ground to stay out of its way. Punkfilter jumped through the air and Q barely had time to put his hands up to block the kick. It still made impact with his fists like a hammer. _This guy is the real deal. _  
Bano stood back against a brick wall watching the two. Q was getting pushed around pretty badly. Bano also kept his eye on the deformed creature watching down the street. It looked like…nah, it couldn't be, could it?  
Q swung his fist out and opened his palm as a devastating wave crashed through the air. A wall of crystalline substance rushed up to protect Punkfilter. The bricks of the building behind him splintered from the impact of the sound wave dealt it. Q felt himself suddenly thrown back by a surprising force. His own sound. His attack had somehow backfired.  
Punkfilter laughed a cruel laugh as Q landed against the street. He felt his head hit the pavement harshly against his forehead. The suited man merely smiled. "As you said yourself, sound and crystal work well against each other. But, if I control the crystal I can also control the direction of the sound wave," he smiled as the wall that had protected him erupted by his touch.  
Q panted hard as he stared at the man. His dark suit had barely been wrinkled. Himself, on the other hand, was bruised and cut up. He stood up shakily to his knees and put his hands together, tunneling chakra from one hand to the other.  
Punkfilter, not waiting even seconds for the half-beaten man to finish, made the next move as he raced across the street towards his victim, swinging his bladed arm at him wildly. He saw his opponent move his mouth, but could not hear.  
"Shockwave," Q muttered weakly to himself. Suddenly, he flung his left hand into the oncoming blade. As his arm swung out behind him, Punkfilter fell hard against the ground. Crystal exploded into the air as the entire blade was shattered in mid air by the force of Q's hit. Punkfilter sat up and opened his fingers and closed them a few times. "That was a pretty impressive move, I didn't know you had it in you," he commented smugly. _This was starting to be_ _fun_.  
"If I circulate the chakra through my body, I am able to collect more of it in one attack. If I channel it through me ten times, I can use the attack shockwave," Q pointed out. Chunks of concrete had been smashed up and dirt had landed everywhere from the force of the attack.  
"True, but that kind of chakra control and power comes at a severe exhaustive price to the body," Punkfilter told him, reading Q's thoughts. Punkfilter stabbed his arm into the ground and the crystal reformed against his hand into a blade.  
He stood up and stretched his arms back, his joints popping. Q put his hands together again and began to reform the attack. It was the only move he could think of against such a strong opponent. However, he could feel his body screaming against the though of using it again. Blood trickled out of a cut above his forehead and sank into his brown hair. _Could he really pull this off?_  
Bano quietly pulled out his two small wooden sticks and opened up the Kama. If Q couldn't succeed against this guy, then the only way Bano could pull it off was by catching him off guard. The body that had followed Punkfilter there stared at the fight quietly. It made Bano shudder slightly. Something just wasn't right about it. He couldn't detect_life_ there.  
Punkfilter's swing barely missed Q as he ducked the blow. He held his hands together, continuing to build up the power of his attack. If he had any chance of winning, he had to give it all he had. Ever single last drop.  
Punkfilter's foot slid past Q's chin within a hairbreadth of hitting him. Punkfilter's right thrust made contact and slid right through Q's side, causing blood to immediately spill out of him. Q began to sputter and cough as blood gushed out of his mouth.  
His body was leaning against Punkfilter as he held him up by the power of his arm. Q then pulled his hands apart and pointed both palms against Punkfilter's chest, his wrists screaming at him to put them down. However, he ignored the cries, and he stumbled weakly as the power of fifty Chakra circulations burst forth from both hands. Punkfilter's body flew back and into the building across the street, taking out the distorted figure with him.  
Q fell face forward onto the street. His energy was waning out of him quickly.  
Bano rushed forward to help his friend but stopped midway. He could feel the air suddenly condense around him as Chakra poured out of the wall Punkfilter had just slammed into. _He was still alive_.  
Bano looked at Q's limp body and could see he was out of the fight after that attack. He made the decision to end this. Kama out, he darted forward as the man in the suit emerged from the hole in the wall. Bano's Kama were blocked by the blades of the crystals on Punkfilter's arm. "Oh, so you're going to fight as well?" Punkfilter asked curiously.  
Bano injected Chakra into his Kama and the blades cut through the crystal and into Punkfilter's arms. Punkfilter howled in pain and kicked Bano away.  
He stared at his bloody arms and then back at Bano as he landed on the ground. "Oh, you have a very interesting ability. I thought being able to channel sound waves was something, but yours is even more peculiar."  
Bano glared at the man silently.  
Punkfilter gently took his jacket off and untucked his shirt. He brushed his hands over each other and the crystal hardened against his arms. With a grin, he charged at Bano swinging both blades. Bano blocked them with his Kama, suddenly breaking through the Crystal again and swinging down, opening Punkfilter's chest with his blade. Punkfilter shouted in pain again, cursing obscenities at Bano. He fell forward, hitting the ground in a slump.  
Bano thought he won. He didn't. The battle was far from over.  
After hitting the ground, Punkfilter pressed his hand into the concrete street. Seeing the sign of movement, Bano spun the Kama around in his hand then brought it down towards Punkfilter's body.  
Five spikes shot through Bano's body.  
Blood dripped from his mouth as he blinked, paralyzed in shock. His body crumpled against the road as a bloody mess.  
Punkfilter pulled his hand out of the ground and shuddered. "You have quite the attack. I see how it works. You can channel your chakra into objects and directly control them. But you can also control the chakra in the object with your chakra. Through that, you can control an opponent's chakra when you attack and make his attacks null. I'm not sure I've ever seen an ability like it." He groaned as he gently rubbed his temples. It was a confusing ability.

Bano tried with all his might to stand up. He couldn't. His body wouldn't get up. Punfilter explained. "The attack I sent you came from the ground behind you. I was able to crystallize five spikes and shoot them into your back before your finishing blow. Still, a very impressive show, you two. A worthy death for two warriors."  
Punkfilter pulled one of the spikes out of Bano's back, and the bloody man groaned in pain, spatting blood out of his mouth. The grinning man knelt next to him. "I had fun, at least," he whispered with a cruel smile. He lifted the spike above Bano's bleeding head. This was it. He was a goner.  
However, just before he could thrust the spike down into the skull, a shadow moved just inside his peripheral vision, and instead he threw it at the figure with the force of a rocket.  
The blade of a Katana caught the crystal and knocked it away effortlessly. "Geez, guys are so weak," the voice complained.  
Bano recognized the voice of Yoyo immediately.  
"Oh, so the coward has come back to play?" Punkfilter smiled. "I recognize you. It's been how many years? Two, three?"  
The blade was pressed into Punkfilter's left arm as Yoyo landed in front of the figure. "It's been six," she whispered.  
Punkfilter looked at his arm then looked back at the girl. "Ah, yes. You were  
scared then, too," he mocked, noticing her trembling figure. He then  
pressed his arm gently into the ground and crystal enveloped Yoyo's  
feet. "You're very fast, but if you can't move..." Punkfilter kicked Yoyo in the face. "Then you're worthless."  
The force of the kick shattered the crystal holding her in place and she crashed into the street. Punkfilter reformed the blades on his arms and whisked across the street. Yoyo barely caught the blade with her own sword. She pulled out her second sword and deflected his second arm. She then smiled and jumped into the air, kicking Punkfilter in his gut.  
His body flew back but Yoyo followed it and perfectly landed her Katana on either side of his neck as he hit the ground.  
"You're dead!" Yoyo screamed as she crossed each blade through what should have been Punkfilter's neck. However, the neck became a solid emerald green rock.  
Yoyo stared, distraught.  
The figure slowly sat up, ignoring the blades and their inability to touch him. Yoyo darted back and aimed her left sword at the man, determined to kill this man she feared.  
"Mm, this is too serious. My boss will get mad," Punkfilter mused to himself. "Your speed is amazing, but I am not sure why you're fighting for lowlifes like these." He shrugged. "Fine. If your guys are still alive, then you can have them; I'm not interested in this anymore." Punkfilter stood up and walked down the street away from the scene.  
Yoyo was shocked that this fight had ended so abruptly. She stared at the man as he walked away. She growled to herself in disgust.  
As she turned quickly to no longer face the man, she just as quickly noticed the horrid conditions of Punkfilter's two opponents. Q's body had suffered  
the most damage out of the three of them, his body limp and face down, as if he were already dead. However, as she got closer, the subtle breathing said otherwise, and she picked him up over her shoulder, slightly relieved at the sign of life. His blood got on her shirt, but she decided to worry about something like that later. When she turned to Bano, he was standing shakily on his legs. "Can you walk?" she asked, for once even slightly concerned for the pig-headed man. He nodded quietly.  
"Yeah, I can," he whispered hoarsely.  
"Good," she replied. She waited for the man to catch up to her, and even stepped back a few steps. Slowly, in silence, the two of them dragged themselves to their hideout, dragging a near-dead Q along.

Amaterasu raced for the spot where the fight had been spotted. KarateKeyaQ had urgently told him about the news, but could hardly believe it. Two men had been seen fighting Punkfilter on Eastside. He knew very well that by the time they arrived the fight would be long over. But this confirmed his suspicions on that new group in the East. It was definitely the two that got away.  
It was simple. Silver belonged to the Squid gang. They had been mugged by  
Silver, but got away. They then beat Darkflame, the leader of the gang. And all the rumors that the gang had been connected to TFK were true. And to get revenge on losing a loyal subject TFK had sent Punkfilter to do damage control.  
He reached the spot and groaned. They were definitely gone. And the damage they had done to the nearby buildings and road was extensive. Eyewitnesses were already being interviewed. The sergeant listened in on the conversations, but it was all disappointing. They had gotten away again. He started to walk down the street in the direction he had heard  
one pedestrian say they saw Punkfilter go.  
Buildings passed him by and his frustration built. There was nothing inherently strong in these two guys. How did they manage to elude him twice, then? And not a single clue. He looked around and realized he had walked a few blocks away from the scene. He dejectedly turned to go back when he noticed a figure limping into an alley.

"You used more than twenty five percent," Darkflame's body rasped.  
"So I did," Punkfilter confessed. "They were still trash. Hardly worth our time. That girl was the only real threat between the two of them and I could of defeated her easily had my power not been restricted."  
"You are correct. Though it is fun nettling in the businesses of the noobies, these two are not worth our time. They can have their deteriorating bar. It has already been confirmed by your fight that the Gangs of the East will finish them off. We have much work to do. You may return." Darkflame's body suddenly collapsed. His job was done.  
Punkfilter looked at the body for a while. How quickly his master had discarded it. He felt the wound that had done the most damage in the fight flare up. "Heh." He smiled to himself and groaned, "That boy with the sound saved all three of their lives." He knew the presence that was waiting behind him. "Do you want something, Sergeant?"  
Amaterasu stepped away from the wall he had been listening against and walked into the alley. "You are a crminal," Amaterasu stated plainly.  
"Yes, yes, but will you do something about it?" Punkfilter questioned. He laughed at the lack of response.  
Amaterasu's eyes narrowed. He waited for the words to come to him. Something to retaliate with.  
Nothing came.

Q's body was gently placed on top of the bed. His breathing was regular and his bleeding had finally slowed. Bano sat against his own bed across the room and sighed. "Thanks for helping us," Bano broke the silence in a near whisper.  
Temari quietly leaned over Q's body and wrapped bandages over his injuries. Yoyo looked at Bano and noted the sincerity. "Yeah, no problem. I think I've decided to stick with you guys, actually," she said, looking down.  
"Heh, where'd you go when you left?" Bano asked.  
"The plan was to ditch you two, but then I remembered how much I hate Punkfilter. Anyway, I'm in your gang now, it seems." She smiled, probably for the first time to Bano.  
"If Q was awake he'd be asking when you ever weren't in our gang," Bano chuckled. "But, welcome to the party."  
Temari looked back at the two of them. "I'm hardly a healer or doctor of any  
kind, but he'll be alright," she reassured, pointing at Q.  
"Thanks for your help Temari," Bano thanked. Temari smiled in return.  
"Of course, I'm the hideout manager, after all," she told him, jokingly  
giving him a salute. After her quiet laugh to herself, she walked off to get the group drinks.  
Bano rested his head against the wall with a sigh and spun his Kama sticks in his hands. Minutes passed by in silence, the only noise being the subtle clinking of glasses colliding and the rush of soda pouring into them.  
"I've never seen Q get thrashed around like that," Bano finally admitted. Yoyo sat against the third bed they had in the small room. The small wooden clock on the wall quietly ticked by.  
"I watched the fight from afar," Yoyo told him. "I couldn't resist. I was supposed to leave you guys behind and forget you, but I didn't. I must say, his attack definitely saved our lives."  
Bano's eyes remained closed, but he nodded his head quietly in agreement. "So, who is this Punkfilter guy?" he asked.  
Yoyo stared at the ground for a moment as Bano awaited the response.  
"He's one of TFK's most dangerous minions," she answered. Looking up at the pig-head, she realized the question before Bano asked. "TFK is one of the three Mafia leaders of the city. He's arguably the most dangerous or powerful, but in reality each Mafia leader has about equal power. Darkflame long boasted that TFK was his master. I suppose the rumors were right."  
Hearing Darkflame's name, Bano reacted.  
"Speaking of that, I thought I saw—" he started. Yoyo cut him off abruptly with a raise of her hand.  
"Let's forget it for now," she told him tiredly. "It's been a long day, and we could all use some rest."  
Bano frowned, but obliged, laying down on his stomach, the stabs in his back too painful to sleep on.  
Yoyo, with her back to him, sighed quietly. _Such a dangerous world._

**** Author's note: And so ends chapter 2. I hope you guys are enjoying the story somewhat. Again, I know its not Naruto based. But hopefully you still don't mind it. As always, the credits, ideas, characters all come from Way Of The Ninja .org Its a good website for posting fanfics on and talking to people about awesome topics like anime! So many great friends and memories there. Finally, wanted to say if you do join, say hey to me, Q. I am the Kazekage of Sand and would love to talk to you. Leave reviews, opinions, etc's too. ****


	3. WOTNopolis: Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Silence. It seemed to be the only thing holding the room together at the moment.  
As the three occupants sat and lied down on their respectable beds, they didn't look at each other. They didn't make much of a sound, excluding the random mumbles and bursts of talking from the sleeping Quater, who was dozing off his pain.  
Bano twirled his kama in his hands. Sitting against the wall behind his bed, the day's earlier events were still fresh on his mind. The five black holes of bleeding pain in his back may have helped with bringing up these thoughts. He winced as he moved a little, changing his position. His kama spun gently and they whisked the air. As he stared at the handle, his fingers loosely wrapped around it, he still continued to think of that Punkfilter — how he had so easily figured him out, almost inside and out. His powers were described in a few mere minutes. Bano hated him for it. In fact, he even_despised_ him.  
He let his kama drop in his lap.  
Yoyo, who sat perpendicular to him, held her katana in her hands and carefully cleaned them, running a rag Temari had let her borrow swiftly over the blade. She heard the clanking of wood coming from Bano's direction. She turned her head to him with a scowl, as if breaking the silence was a sin.  
"You know, that clanking is pretty annoying," she told him, turning back to her near-shining blade.  
Bano turned his head with an annoyed glare. "It only happened once, woman!"  
She turned her head to him quickly again, a finger against her smirk. "Shh," she whispered. "The idiot's still sleeping."  
He hrmphed, laying his arms across his chest dejectedly. _Stupid woman._  
The silence returned like a thick blanket over the room, making the occupants uncomfortably quiet. They wanted to speak out, but the silence refused to let them. Just like the awake child tucked tightly into bed, just wanting to run back out and stay awake like his elder siblings. Alas, the blanket, just like the silence, tightly bound them to their bed. Uncomfortable.  
Bano still thought of the man who had beaten all of them, nearly killing Q and almost critically wounding him. The stab wound near his shoulder burned, and he winced. That basta—  
"Alright, I'm going to go sleep. Don't you dare make a sound, pig-head," Yoyo announced. She slid her katana into its holster, the blade quietly sliding against the metal. She then shook the covered sword at him. "Or off with your pig head. Got it, pig-head?"  
Bano groaned. "If you stop saying the words 'pig' and 'head', of course, I'll do anything."  
"No deal, pig-head." She smirked at him and slid under the covers, taking her glasses off and turning her back to him. "Night, pig-head."  
Bano shook his head. "Wait."  
"What pig-head?" she asked, her eyes closed and still facing the wall. The window above her bed let the moonlight pass in.  
"My butt looks big in purple?"  
Yoyo's eyes snapped open in disgust.  
"_Excuse me?_"  
Although he knew well that she couldn't see him, Bano held his hands up in defense. "Hey, that wasn't me."  
Yoyo rolled over with eyes open just in time for the next line.  
"No, don't look around that pillar!"  
Her's and Bano's eyes didn't blink once as they stared at the sleeping man. They looked at each other, and then back at Q.  
"Mm, you taste like chocola—"  
"_I'm going to sleep now,_" Yoyo seethed, turning away from the strange and downright creepy sleep talk and laying down once again.  
"Hold on a sec," Bano said quickly.  
"No, not listening."  
"It's just a question, woman."  
She groaned. "Ask me later."  
"No, answer me now."  
"You never asked a question."  
"Don't go through that door!"  
"Well, you didn't give me the chance to!"  
"Fine." She rolled over to her back and sat back up. She instantly glared at the nuisance. "What is it, pig-head?"  
"Who was that guy?" he finally asked. He had wanted to know the answer all day, but the chance had never seemed right. Not that it seemed ideal right now, but he had to ask at _some _point.  
She sighed. "That was Punkfilter, the minion of TFK. Are men really that forgetful?" asked Yoyo.  
"No, not that. You two have met before, somewhere. You said six years ago. What did all that mean?" Bano asked.  
"The man in the yellow jacket! He was an evil peasant," Q shouted again, then quieted down softly.  
"He knows lots of people," Yoyo answered, ignoring the point he was trying to get to.  
"Well, the thing is…" Bano started, but then took a deep breath. His eyes stared at his spinning kama and he shot the blades out of them. "He analyzed my powers in a minute. It took me years to understand them, and out of nowhere he did it like it was nothing. It actually pisses me off."  
"So?" Yoyo asked. "What does it matter?"  
"Here, Cherry Coke. Good boy! Fetch!" Q rolled over in his sleep.  
"It matters to me. Not to him," Bano said, pointing at Q, "But it's important to me. All those years trying to develop my powers and he analyzed them so fast. If you know about him, which you do, I want to know everything. Enough secrets and holding back. Know what I mean?"  
"No, I don't," Yoyo replied, placing her forearm over her eyes tiredly.  
Bano sighed irritably. As he looked away from the annoying woman swiftly, he caught a glimpse of a moving shadow in the window. His brown eyes narrowed as he looked back at it. The dark mass seemed to stare back, tauntingly. _Come and get me.  
_He jumped off his bed and onto the ground next to it. "Get up," he whispered to Yoyo, not yet taken his eyes off of the paned window above the woman's bed.  
"Why?" she asked, taking her arm off of her face. Her eyes held annoyance at his threatening stance. "I'm not going to fight you right now."  
Bano shook his head in frustration. "Amaterasu," he muttered under his breath. The word barely escaped his mouth when a loud explosion rocked the room.  
"Flying pineapples of terror!" Q squeaked as he jumped out of his bed, still half-asleep. "We need a better alarm clock..."  
Suddenly, without time to interpret what the sleepy man had just said, Temari broke through the door to the room in tears. Panic was etched on her face, her voice scratched with dread as she screamed, "The bar's on fire!"  
Q grabbed Bano's arm. "What's going on?" he asked, rubbing the rest of the sleep out of his eyes drowsily, yet now seemingly alert.  
"Amaterasu is attacking," Bano told his friend hurriedly. His left eye closed slightly as he winced. He had jumped to his feet a little too quickly, and the shock was setting in. The wounds from Punkfilter were still weighing heavily on him.  
"How do you know this?" Yoyo asked as she whipped her cleaned swords out.  
Bano didn't answer.  
The group ran back into the main room. Temari, still in a state of sheer panic, started to throw water at the fire with frightening force.  
"You sure it was him?" Q asked with a frown as he spotted another bucket to fill water with. Bano nodded. Q sighed.  
"I can't fight him. I'm still too weak, and he's got a special power against me," he said bitterly. He looked at his friend with determination drawn into his dark eyes. "But you can win."  
That was all the motivation Bano needed. He jumped over the fire at the door and slid out onto the street, trying very hard to ignore the shocks of pain bolting through his back. He tried to keep his focus. He could feel the sergeant's presence across the street.

Amaterasu did what looked like an attempt to smile across his serious face. "I knew it," the sergeant said in a matter-of-fact tone.  
"Working overtime?" Bano muttered sourly. "And you call yourself a cop. You're a villain."  
"On the contrary. I can never cease working when criminals like you are walking around freely. I am not a villain. I am a protector," Amaterasu explained.  
"Well, I was asleep in bed, not near walking. Now, because of you, I'm on the street. And now about to wallop you. So, you failed greatly to keep this street safe," Bano seethed.  
"You'll defeat me? Laughable," Amaterasu countered. He wasn't laughing.  
"You burned down an innocent person's bar in the dead of night! She never hurt anyone! That's the tactics of an arsonist _and_ a snake! I'll kill you!" With his angered words said, Bano shot across the street. Spinning in the air, the pain sparking again as he twisted his back, he used the momentum of his body to slam his kama towards Amaterasu.  
Amaterasu deflected the attack with the body of his bazooka, not waiting another second to kick into the air.  
Bano's body flipped away as he was hit harshly in the shoulder. He grunted as he forced his body to let himself land safely on the sidewalk in front of the burning bar. The heat warmed his wounded back. The sizzling of the water ferociously hitting the fire rang through his ears. It nearly blocked out whatever criminally cruel words the sergeant was saying.  
"The tactics I use to catch criminals are my own to pick. Besides, Temari was harboring criminals for a long time. There _is_ a crime against that, you know." Amaterasu's smirk fueled Bano's anger only that much more.  
The sergeant turned his bazooka and aimed it squarely at Bano. The corners of his lips twitched upward more into a devious smile. "Oh, well look at this. You're in a bit of a spot now, aren't you?" He cocked his bazooka. "See, if I shoot and you dodge, I hit your precious bar," he pointed his weapon above Bano's head and at the enflamed hideout."_And_ whoever is still inside it."  
Bano growled. _Q, Temari, and Yoyo were still in there._  
"If I don't, you get blown to pieces. Take your pick."  
However, there was no time to 'pick'.  
Without waiting for his answer, Amaterasu blasted a round at Bano. Bano was still stuck in his decision. He saw the blast coming straight toward him. His conscious was going blank. His sub-conscious, however, stayed alert for his life.  
His right hand lifted on its own will, and chakra surged through the weapon held in a raised pale fist. The ammo was shot away into the night sky.  
Neither the bar nor Bano was harmed. No pick to take from the sergeant.  
Amaterasu glared, and his smile slunk. He shot two more rounds at Bano, determined to kill the criminal.  
His plans were so easily foiled.  
Rushing forward and swinging his kama, Bano was able to counter the shots once, twice more and direct them back to Amaterasu. The sergeant jumped high to avoid his own ammo and then immediately  
crouched low to avoid the two swings by Bano.  
_He's powerful_. Amaterasu swapped his bazooka with his semi automatic and pulled the trigger, aiming where Bano was standing and sending the bullets rapidly towards him. Bano darted down the street just ahead of the shot of the bullets and dived behind a building. The building's bricks cracked as the bullets hit them mere moments after the opponent dodged them.  
Amaterasu looked in each direction and glared. He knew his opponent was hiding, waiting to attack at the right moment. An actor's don't-care smile appeared on his face as his mind grasped an idea. "You forget," Amaterasu shouted. "I can blast the bar again if I want to."  
The sergeant crouched and shot his weapon at Bano, who instantly swung at him from behind with his kama ready. As the two swiftly moved past each other, the sergeant could see the angry flare in the opponent's eyes. His smile only grew larger.  
Bano jumped over the crouching Amaterasu quickly and landed in front of the taller man's face. Before the cop had time to turn around completely, Bano wasted no time in planting a rough kick in the side of his face. Despite the wounds in his back, the force was still incredibly strong, forcing Amaterasu to fly back hard into a street pole. His back slammed into the metal, surprisingly not breaking. However, he slouched to the ground and tried to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him.  
Bano smiled as he watched his attack hit perfectly. Amaterasu pushed himself to his feet and glared at the man before him. "You are powerful for a lowlife," Amaterasu admitted. "But I'm going to end this right here." He slid his hand into his pocket and pulled at a small, dark round object. "This high powered explosive grenade is lined and fused with my own chakra. Not only will this not be one you can simply dodge or cut through like the others, but it's also got quite the powerful aftereffect," Amaterasu summarized for Bano.  
Without giving Bano time to react to the deadly summary, Amaterasu flung the grenade in Bano's direction, his dark eyes ablaze. _Hit him. Hit him_.  
Bano, however, managed to just barely dodge the airborne missile. The grenade skittered away as it exploded and eradicated the spot he had just been standing at. Bano turned his head back at his former spot with a look of half relief and the rest pain. He could feel warm lines of blood trailing down his spine slowly.  
A streetlight nearby was snapped from its foundation and crashed across the intersection, the cracked pavement under it keeping it from sinking underground. Every window nearby fragmented into pieces, and even the brick walls close to the blast fractured from the strong force.  
Smoke smoldered over the area. A shiver of chakra disrupted the air and hit Bano's skin, causing him to turn to it. He looked over and could barely believe his eyes.  
_Oh. Lord_.  
A wall of flame came blasting towards him, the burning colors brightening his brown eyes. He sprung into the air and landed on the top of a nearby light pole, just missing the fiery doom. Despite missing the flames, he cringed. Another patch of his freshly scabbed over wounds opened slightly again. The warm liquid slid down from it.  
Before he could even gasp for a single breath, another object went whirling by his face. Bano swung off the light pole and dashed across the street as the second detonation blew across the night sky.  
Buildings shuddered. Screams of innocent people within the radius of the discharged rang through the air. For whatever reason there could be, Bano could only think of one thing: _If Q were fighting, his head would have split open already._

Bano himself had barely escaped when he heard something clank to the ground next to him.  
"How many of these things do you have?" Bano yelled angrily at the man who was tossing the grenades as if they were rice at a wedding, or some other odd and happy simile like that. Bano slid away from the small bomb as fast he could and then ducked low. The wall of flame from the earlier grenade just missed his head as it flew by, nearly skimming his hair. Some nearby trash cans ignited by the flames, but Bano realized he couldn't wait long, for the next grenade was surely about to explode.  
Suddenly, three cracks of bullets shattered the night air. Bano fell onto his knees just as the third grenade burst into pieces. The force of the blast shoved Bano in the back and forced him to fall forward. His face smashed against the concrete, the blood beginning to flow softly out of his nose, the color distinctly matching his hair. The ground was cool against his cheek. He breathed through his mouth, picking up small grains of dirt. He only sputtered slightly. _I need to get up. I need to get up and finish this guy. _  
He pushed his face up from the ground and wiped his bloody nose with his sleeve. The arm keeping him up nearly gave out from under him.  
_Come on, get up…_  
He gritted his teeth and pushed his other arm under him. His fingers scratched into the cement while his muscles burned.  
_Get up…_  
He pushed the top part of his body up, his arms trembling. He slid his legs under him and sat on them.  
_Get up get up get up._  
He let his head fall back, and he took a huge gasp of air. From afar, Amaterasu was watching him, waiting for him to fall down again, smiling.  
_GET UP, _NOW_._  
He threw his head back forward and let his red hair slap his eyes. With all the energy left in him, he narrowed his eyes and pushed his hands against the ground again. He ignored the screams from his arms, and his back tearing. He had to get up and beat this guy. He _had _to.  
Finally, he got himself in a crouching position, and pushed on the ground below him. The quarter of a second he was airborne, he could feel his muscles relax. However, his feet hit the ground again, and he was back inside insanity. He looked up.  
Amaterasu was frowning.  
Suddenly, there was a crackling, matching the sounds of flames burning through whatever they could. With these two facts put together, Bano quickly noticed exactly what was happening, and jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, though the flames themselves were avoided, the intense heat followed him, capturing his already burning back. The heatbegan the flare into another fire, squarely on his already wounded back. Bano fell to the ground, yelling curses in pain. He began to roll, trying to put the flames out and end this anguish. The flames spread to his arms, and he smacked them against the ground. The sergeant was watching with a disappointed face.  
"Drats. I only hit you with two of those bullets," he remarked as he crossed the street. "Oh well, no matter. The blast of the grenades did their job. The special chakra in the grenades also hunts down nearby sources of chakra, which is why they continued to come after you."  
Amaterasu was now towering over Bano's body. Smoke arose from his arms and from beneath him as the flames were finally desperately put out. He felt himself coughing blood weakly, strings of it trailing out of the corner of his gasping mouth. The wounds from his previous fight were still heavy on his body, now even heavier with severe burnsoverlapping them. Only in WOTNopolis could he be expected to take on two challengers that were so powerful in the same day. The bullets were also no small pain themselves. He clenched his teeth tight and determined himself. Even if it cost him his life, he was not going to lose here.  
Amaterasu effortlessly pointed the rifle at Bano's head, showing that he was not nearly as weak. Bano quickly swiped his hand to the right and pushed the rifle away from his head. Shots rang out across the night. Amaterasu must have shot at least 15 rounds of bullets, determined to blow his opponent's head off.  
If he had realized he was off target, maybe he wouldn't have been so defenseless to his rival.  
Bano pulled his kama out and didn't bother pushing any of his chakra through it. There was barely even a few drops left in his body anyway. Instead, he just pushed the blades through the sergeant's chest.  
The shooting violently stopped, and the air went silent.  
Amaterasu stepped more than a few steps back, blood spreading profusely from where he was attacked. "Good attack," he whispered weakly through his clenched teeth. Slowly, he turned, the kama falling out of his chest smeared with blood. Just as slowly as he turned, he slowly limped away from the injured man.  
Bano exhaustively fell back onto the ground, too weak to wince at the pain flowing from his back. He did it. He did it.  
Suddenly and uncontrollably, Bano shouted to the sky, a burst of anger and triumph exploding from his voice. "You better not come back! Ever! I will kill you! I promise you this day I will wring you! Do you hear me!? I'll kill you!!"  
Bano laughed to himself and let his voice relax itself. He had been very fortunate. His burned arm had been fast enough, and surprising enough to catch Amaterasu off guard. He pushed the rifle away so that the bullets just spattered against the ground. He moved his eyes to his right. Just about 15 bullet shells.  
The blood pouring out of him was a bit alarming, but for one reason or another, Bano was at peace. The cold night air swept over him. There was no noise. He couldn't feel his pain anymore. Maybe, he was just ready to go. Maybe it was his time, right now. Maybe this was what he was expecting out of this battle.  
His eyes were becoming heavy and the world around him was darkening quickly. Before his eyes shut him off from the world completely, a faded person came into view.  
The only part of her he caught was her long black hair that danced from the soft breeze that lastly swept over him...

- - -

Amaterasu cringed against the wall. He had limped away from the ended fight and into an alley. That hoodlum had thrown a blade right into his chest and yanked it out. Blood dripped down his uniform and out of his mouth. He slowly slid his back against the brick wall and sat down. He pressed the back of his skull against its cool bricks.  
"You lost?" A voice had interrupted his few seconds of peace. Amaterasu knew who it was without looking up.  
"Yeah, they're stronger than I gave them credit for, _Renden_." Amaterasu put extra emphasis on the name, sounding as if the man was mad at him.  
A figure behind Renden smirked. "Oho, that's a surprise, indeed. It seems I can use this, indeed," whispered the figure, adding one too many "indeed"s.  
Amaterasu glared, still without looking at either of them. "Of course. I knew you'd be scuttling around somewhere if Renden is here, Destinykil."  
Destinykil chuckled."Yes, yes. You're very tough and scary, crouching in the dark," Destinykil mocked as he pulled the cloak off the top of his head. "I saw you go by, and thought to myself, 'How often do we see a cop in the East?' So thought I'd follow. The excellent me always can see when things are up, indeed."  
"You failed to capture them, but fear not Sergeant. We're gonna have fun with them," Renden crackled behind his black cloak. The street lights cast ominous shadows upon the ground. The light flickered across Renden's face, making it seem as if he were wearing an evil mask.  
Amaterasu stood up, grunting at the pain in his chest. "Not likely. You two are criminals. I'll be ending your lives here," he told the two with all the conviction he could muster. Destinykil sighed.  
"You know, you never say, 'give up', or, 'turn yourselves in', or, 'I'm hauling you to jail'. It's always 'straight to death with you'," Destinykil muttered loudly. He turned on his heelnonchalantly and walked away, picking up his hand and waving to the sergeant. behind him. Renden wasted no time to follow.  
"We'll see you around, Sargey," Renden mocked exaggeratedly and followed his partner.  
Amaterasu groaned in pain and slunk back against the wall. He had the wounds of two fights bearing on him. And all the criminals he had gone after had gotten away, alive. "Maybe I should quit working overtime," he mused to himself quietly.

- - -

The blue of the dawn seeped into his opening eyes. He squinted and shut them again, narrowing his eyebrows. He was lying on the ground, somewhere he had no recollection of. Small scenes of the fight from who knows how long ago burned brightly in his closed eyes. He sighed deeply. Ah, his body felt great at least. A little exercise, a nice nap, these things...  
_Wait, what?_  
Bano's eyes snapped open back to the dawn and he lifted the top part of his body up quickly. He moved his head as his eyes scattered over his surroundings. Why on Earth did he feel great? He had burns on his arms and some that covered up the five wounds from the fight before that! What in the world was going on? Why in the world was he stillthere?  
Why on Earth did he feel so _great?_  
Beside him on the sidewalk was a girl who had jumped slightly from him suddenly sitting up so abruptly. Bano, as his eyes scanned the area, found his eyes catching her. He stared at her, and she stared back.  
She blinked quietly, her grey-blue eyes disappearing for a moment.  
"What's going on?" Bano asked her, confusion filling his voice.  
"Um, I was taking care of the wounds you got in your fight," she answered, equally confused. He noticed subtly that she had an accent, but a sweet voice.  
Now Bano blinked, not only at her, but at himself for noticing such things. "O-Oh," he stuttered. He felt a bit embarrassed and relaxed his tense and confused shoulders. "Er, thanks."  
She smiled and took his arm in one hand. The sleeve was already rolled up, and the burns were somewhat gone already. It must have been what she was working on before he woke up. She gently continued to pour chakra into the burn. "You like ticking off the police?" she asked, concentrating more on healing the man's arm than a conversation with him.  
Bano looked away with his eyes. "Heh, I've been doing that since day one," he told her coolly. She just shrugged. The embarrassment crept back into his face and he flushed. He was being so uncool.  
Suddenly, she sighed irritably. "You're very hurt; quit moving around so much," she chastised and pushed him back onto the ground. She looked back at his arm and started back to work without another word. Bano laid there quietly.  
The mysterious girl concentrated on her chakra. "You know, that was stupid, fighting him like that," she commented.  
"He attacked my friend's bar. I wasn't letting him get away," Bano answered. She pushed her black hair out of her eyes and shrugged. Bano suddenly asked, "Wait, how do you know I fought Amaterasu?"  
She looked at him briefly, then back at his arm. "I just so happened to be walking around," she answered.  
He nodded, not really caring much th she could have been lying. "What's your name, anyway?"  
"Clair," she answered, picking up her head and smiling at him. "And you?"  
"Bano," he replied, giving her a weak smile in return.

From across the street of where Bano and the girl were, Temari was wailing. "My bar," she cried as she hugged a piece of broken wood close to her. Q had watched her quietly lament the bar's state for the past ten minutes.  
The fire had been taken care of, but at a high price. The walls and roof of the bar were gone. Most of the open room was covered in ash and soot and the smell of smoke was wafting heavily upon them. The entire front entrance of the bar had suffered heavy damage.  
Q walked over and patted her on the shoulder, watching her sob over the piece of wood she clung to her chest.  
"Don't worry, Temari," he said sullenly. "We're gonna fix all of this. We'll repair it all and build an even bigger and fancier bar. You're not losing this place, got it?"  
She looked at him, her big teary eyes holding hope in what he said. She nodded happily.  
Yoyo, who had been sitting off to the side inside the part of the bar that had been left mostly untouched, noticed her good pig-headed friend wander back. "He's back," Yoyo announced as she sat in the corner of the bar cleaning her swords. She looked at the black haired girl that walked next to him and frowned with narrowed eyes. "Oh, and he brought a friend. Ugh, men. Repugnant."  
Q ignored Yoyo's strange ramblings to herself and smiled at the two of them. His smile faded quickly, though, as he saw that the girl with Bano was being used as a crutch. Bano came through the door and he grimaced at the sight.  
The bar had been hit pretty hard. If the bazooka hadn't hit it, the fire would of gone out in this brick building pretty fast but the explosion changed everything. _Blasted man_.  
"Don't worry. We're gonna make it better than new. As our new hideout, we're gonna make this place a gangster pad," Q said and renewed his smile. He could feel everyone here was pretty down, and this was confirmed by the dagger stares everyone gave him. "Can I have some Cherry Cokes, Temari?" he asked nervously, changing the topic.  
Clair let Bano slide into a seat that was still intact. He groaned softly from the minor pains and aches. After checking if he was okay, she turned to Q and asked, "You guys are a gang? What's your symbol? What's your animal?"  
Before an answer could be spoken, Temari came back with a deep frown. "The fridge burned down, somehow," she sighed.  
"We don't have those, yet…" Bano felt sweat running down his forehead at how stupid that sounded.  
"_Noooooooooo!_" Q wailed. He dramatically clutched at his heart. "Darn them! Darn them all! They got a friend more precious to me than Bano! They got the Cherry coke!" He laid on the ground, curling into a ball. "I hate them all!"  
Yoyo rolled her eyes and Bano looked over at Q with a worried glance. "More precious to you?" he asked sadly.  
"Is he okay?" Clair looked alarmed. "Was he hurt, too?"  
Yoyo sighed. "Only when he was dropped on the head as a baby…" she muttered. Clair looked disturbed, but Temari only laughed.  
"He is hurt, but he's fine," she answered with the truth. Clair sighed in relief.  
"There's no hope. We should of never come here. They killed my favorite," Q eerily muttered, shivering.  
"Favorite?" Bano asked, a frown curving into his face.  
Yoyo stood up and walked over to Clair. "She has a point, whoever she is. As a gang, we need a symbol and an animal."  
"Cherry coke!" Q yelled as he pushed his fist into the air, sitting up on the floor. "We need to make our symbol our lost love and hope! The only one who we could trust!"  
"Trust?" Bano's eyes now frowned as well.  
Yoyo beat Q over the head with her club, and Clair jumped. "Any ideas that_aren't_ purely idiotic?" Yoyo asked.  
Temari spoke up. "You should be the man eating squids that kill thousands a year."  
Everyone in the bar cringed. _Too creepy_.  
"I know," Clair spoke.  
"Who are you?" Yoyo questioned, resting her club on her shoulder.  
"Clair," she answered with a small smile. "Anyway, you should call your gang 'The Fuzzy Bunny Gang!'" she said to them cheerily.  
"No," Bano said instantly, for the first time looking at the girl in annoyance.  
"No," Yoyo agreed with Bano.  
"No," Temari muttered.  
"I like it!" Q jumped up and was instantly bonked by Yoyo, knocking him back into his sitting position on the floor with a pout. "Fine. We can be the Eagle Gang. Nothing says freedom, bravery, honor, nobility—"  
"He's actually got a good one," Yoyo commented with a smile, nodding.  
"I bet he likes the eagle more than me, too," Bano grumbled.  
"Oh! Majestic," Temari said and Clair nodded in agreement.  
"—Heart touching, trustworthy, sweet flavored, carbonated, and fizzy like cherry—" Yoyo and Bano both stomped Q into the ground. Clair tried to pull Bano back to his seat.  
"So, Eagle Gang it is. It works," Bano agreed, letting Clair sit him down again. He put his hand up as the sun came through the wall and got into his eyes.  
"Symbol?" Yoyo asked, crossing her arms.  
"GP," Bano instantly said. Q nodded in agreement.  
"Of course, the symbol could be nothing but that," Q added.  
"What the heck?" Clair asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.  
"Don't ask," Yoyo muttered. "Men hardly make sense. Just better if you don't ask."  
"Who's the leader?" Clair asked curiously. Yoyo and Bano pointed sorrowfully at Q. Q began to open his mouth.  
"If the next two words out of your mouth are 'Cherry' or 'Coke', then pain is on the way," Bano warned. Q shut his mouth. Bano nodded to himself. "So what now?"  
"You guys need to go shopping for some supplies to rebuild the bar with," Q told them from his spot on the floor. He looked up at Clair. "You can help, too, if you'd like. I'll stay back at the bar and make sure nothing happens here while you guys are away."  
Bano couldn't help but act a bit surprised. The plan was great. "Wow, great thinking, Q."  
"Yeah, you really surprised us all," Yoyo added.  
"And here I was thinking you were some kind of idiot," Temari joined with a smile.  
"First impressions might not be always true," Clair finished.  
"Gee thanks guys. And don't forget to get some Cherry Coke while you're gone," Q smiled.  
Clair, Bano, and Yoyo left the bar, Clair almost instantly taking back her 'first impressions' comment. Bano was walking much better now, not needing his human crutch any longer. Whatever that girl had done, it worked wonders.

Q and Temari waved the three off until they couldn't see them any longer. Q then turned to the manager. "Temari, do you have any paint?" Q asked as he pushed himself off of the floor.  
"Yes, around back," she smiled, hoping to herself that the fire hadn't reached back there as well.  
"Great," he smiled.

- - -

"I hope you know what to do," the voice finished reading.  
"Yes, yes, it'll be a piece of cake," the small man said. Two blades were tied to his back and he wore a bandanna over his head. "We, the Rat Gang, will not be so easily defeated by these wusses."  
"So, you're gonna listen to this note?" asked the deep voice of a tall silver haired man.  
"Normally I wouldn't," the short man droned, "But seeing who it's by and what it is, I think we can make an exception. I am trusting you to lead the gang to battle."  
The big man smiled and grunted his approval.

- - -

Bano clumsily carried the big pieces of wood and dragged behind him a refrigerator that wasn't exactly easy to carry.  
"This isn't exactly easy to carry," Bano muttered his thoughts.  
"Man up," Yoyo growled, carrying only a bag filled with nails and other small building supplies.  
"Oh, I really don't want to hear that from you," Bano grumbled.  
"Man up, man up, man up," Yoyo chanted with a smile. Clair smiled at Yoyo's obnoxious attitude and took a few pieces of wood off the top of the refrigerator for Bano.  
"Thanks," Bano smiled.  
"You're wounded; you need to be helped," she said back.  
"No, I'm really quite fine now," Bano answered.  
"You still need some rest," Clair added.  
"Whatever," Bano grunted. He caught up with Yoyo, who had stopped. The street they were on was completely deserted of people and they had ended at a fenced in compound.  
"Well, I am very lost," Yoyo muttered, running a hand through her short hair.  
Bano dropped the stuff. "Lost? You're the guide! Come on!"  
"Well, you see, I, uh…" Yoyo stammered.  
Bano hit his forehead with his palm. "You're kidding me."  
"Shut up, pig-head!" she snapped. She looked around, and suddenly pointed. "Look there's a warehouse. We can just go inside and ask for directions."  
No one objected. Yoyo grunted and led the way into the deserted town.  
As they advanced upon the warehouse, Bano commented quietly, "In a situation like this, Q would say keep going forward. A step back is a step undone and something else stupid. So let's go inside that building." He suddenly regretted quoting his friend in an argument in favor of something.  
They crossed the empty and decayed grounds in silence. The warehouse door hung open uninvitingly. Bano slid inside first to check the area. Instead of finding boxes stacked everywhere like he expected, he saw a very sparse room with a set of boxes in the middle. He poked his head back outside and waved the other two in. They entered without question.  
A small man was perched against the counter, napping peacefully. The dim light showed he had two swords tied to his back. The three looked at each other, and Clair stepped forward to the counter. "Um, excuse me," Clair spoke up. The man stirred lightly, and Clair continued. "Hi, we're kind of lost, can you help us?"  
The man woke up and looked confusedly around. "Um, oh, lost you say? Sure. Where did you come from?" he asked her dazedly.  
"Well, we need to get back to our bar," Bano answered.  
"Ah, of course, your bar…" the man said sleepily. Then his eyes jutted open. "Hey! No one can come into my secret lair! You guys can't do this!" Clair staggered back to Bano and Yoyo.  
"Er, bipolar much," Yoyo muttered, raising an eyebrow.  
"Sorry, sorry, we mean no trouble, really," Clair smiled nervously. "We left our friend at a bar, and he needs us to bring back some goods. We just picked out our gang symbol today," Clair called out.  
"Geez, she made herself at home with us fast," Yoyo muttered again as she listened. Bano nodded.  
"Are you going to keep doing that?" Bano asked.  
"Oh! Congratulations on the new gang symbol. I remember when…" The man suddenly stopped and glared at them. "Quit distracting me."  
He pulled out his two blades. Two giant kuri knives. "I am the one and only King Of Blades! I am going to slaughter you here and now. No one stands up after they see the terrible powers I wield."

- - -

Q smiled. They had finally shown themselves.  
He hummed quietly as he stepped off the ladder he had been on for the past hour or so and put the paintbrush down. "Can I help you?" Q asked friendly, turning around with his smile.  
Around thirty men stood in the road staring back at Q. A tall and buff man carrying a lance spoke up in a deep voice. "You are Q, correct?"  
"Yes, I am." Q answered as he wiped his hands on his jeans. He continued to smile and could feel his chakra burning. His battle lust was strong.  
"Then we are here to kill you and your gang," the man said bluntly in his deep voice. He swung his lance over his shoulder.  
"I'm afraid they aren't here," Q grinned. "But this won't take long anyway."  
"Heh, tough guy huh?" the man asked, and the group laughed. "Hate to break it to you, but you are way outnumbered."  
"That's fine," Q smiled. "I actually had a little something I wanted to try out."

- - -

Bano turned to the black haired girl. "Can you fight?" he asked sincerely.  
"Yes, I'm fairly decent," she replied. Chakra pulsed into her hands and glowed a bright blue. For a few seconds, it formed, finally turning into a solid blue mass.  
A bow.  
She then formed and shot an ice arrow and blew a hole into the wall across the room.  
King Of Blades looked at her with a startled expression.  
"Oh," Yoyo smiled. "That's great! We can use this." She nodded at the warehouse man. "Let's beat this sucker."  
"Yeah!" Clair smiled. Bano was still feeling foolish for asking the question, but nodded.  
King Of Blades rushed across the room and swung his knives in their direction. The group split up with Yoyo catching the blades against her two katana. Clair dashed across the room and blasted a row of ice arrows at the attacker. The man dodged them almost easily, but was then kicked in the back by Bano. His kama dug into his kuri knives, and he managed to shove one away from his body.  
"Oh shoot!" King of Blades yelled in surprise as he flipped away. Yoyo's katana sliced through the air as she flew by King of Blades and landed against a wall.  
His chest burst open with blood from the swift attack, and he fell forward and against the ground. From there, three ice arrows raced to the top of his skull and ended him.  
"Well, for the King of Blades, he was no match for ours, was he?" Yoyo asked Bano.  
"Not at all," Bano smiled back.  
"You guys were great!" Clair cheered.  
"You did fine yourself," Bano complimented. "Let's hurry back to Q and tell him how we beat this guy down."  
"Hm, we never did get those directions though…" Yoyo mused.  
"Good point."  
The group arrived back at the bar not very long later after they found a much nicer person to ask for directions.  
The scene before them made them gape.  
Q was standing across the street from the bar admiring his own work.  
"What the freedom happened here?" Bano called from the side of the bar they had come up from. Q turned to them with a smile.  
"Well, apparently some group called the Rat Gang came by, but I took care of it," Q smiled. Concrete chunks lay everywhere and bodies had been strewn in every direction. Two cars had been knocked over and a street  
light had fallen.  
"Yeah, no kidding, but did you have to take WOTNopolis with them?" Bano asked incredulously.  
"Sorry, sorry," Q apologized with a sigh. He looked at the three and waved them over, grinning. "But come over here, I want you to look at this."  
They crossed the street warily. Bodies and damage done outside the bar from two different, intense fights makes one nervous.  
When they reached the other side, they followed Q's outstretched arm, pointed at a wall. Their eyes winded in surprise.  
"Wow, Q," Bano remarked. "You never told me you could paint."  
"Well, actually, I cheated and had Temari draw up a sketch for me to use, but still."  
"Aha, cool," Yoyo smiled.  
"It fits," Clair replied.  
A giant, soaring eagle was plastered above the doors to the bar. In graffiti next to it were the letters "GP". The wings stretched from one side of the brick wall to the other. The giant talons carefully curled around the door the entrance. Its beak pressed against the roof. There were no colors, just a black outline.  
"I'm amazed you painted this so fast," Bano asked.  
"Your mum wasn't," Q answered.  
"Touché," Bano muttered.

****Author's Note: Okay, this is all we've got up so far. Check out Way Of The Ninja .org for the new chapter 4 that should be arriving very soon. I know, I've said that every chapter, but if you've gone this far without checking it out you don't know what you're missing. Its not your average Naruto site, I promise you that. Anyway, I hope you liked what you've read so far. We know it's not a Naruto Fanfic, but we still enjoy making it. Please leave comments, reviews, whatever makes you happy down below. It doesn't take much time but your feedback means a lot to us. And say hi to me Q, when you join Way Of The Ninja. Kazekage of Sand, afterall.****


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